Sabbat World's Crusade
by Mattwho81
Summary: A compliation of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade from Games Workshop. All credit must go to Dan Abnett who work this is based on, if you enjoy this then please check his 'Gaunt Ghosts' series for the full story.


**The Sabbat Worlds Crusade**

**War rages in the deeps of space, the glorious armies of the Imperium battle the dread forces of Chaos in their bid to liberate the holy planets of the Sabbat worlds. Victory hangs in the balance and one mistake could seal the fate of billions.**

**The uncountable hordes of Chaos vie for control over a hundred populated planets. Battles are fought tooth and nail on the land, in the air, and in the depthless reaches of space. The Imperium forges into enemy held territory, but they face a foe that is both tenacious and organised. Move follows countermove, and the greatest tacticians of the age vie to out-think an enemy who forces the Imperium to pay for every metre with the blood of her sons.**

**The Sabbat Worlds**

The Sabbat worlds are a fecund region of inhabitable worlds along the rimward edge of Segmentum Pacificus. The area was subject to limited colonisation in the early years of the Imperium but it was not until the emergence of Saint Sabbat in M35 that the area was taken as an Imperial holding. Arising from the simple peasant world of Hagia she was gifted by the Emperor with a divine grace and blazing purity that inspired the hearts of all whom laid eyes upon her. In her teachings we find a voice of simplicity and graceful wisdom that quite belies her upbringing and background. In her achievements, we find a record to shame Lord Militants.

The Saint's Crusade endured for one hundred and five years until her martyrdom on Harakalon, where she suffered the Nine Holy Wounds. Astartes of the White Scars brought her body back to Hagia, where she was interred in a holy shrinehold, high in the mountains.

In the wake of her death a permanent Imperial presence was established to police the region, and govern the hundred or so worlds. Control of the Sector was divided into several discrete sub-sectors following the original Crusade of Saint Sabbat. Running from the galactic west to east the sub-sectors were the Newfound Trailing, the Khan Group, the Cabal Systems, the Carcaradon Cluster and the Erinyes Group. Each was densely packed with inhabited worlds and blessed with a fertile and deeply spiritual culture.

However the area was always a troublesome province, as it bordered the Halo Zone, which harboured the fearsome worlds of the Chaos March. Over the millennia Imperial authority in the region withered until by mid M41 the area could no longer be considered to be an Imperial Sector. By 740.M41 a figure known as Archon Nadzybar had risen to sole dominance of the Chaos held planets. Lesser warlords, or 'Magisters' each commanded vast armies in the name of the Archon and plagued the few remaining Imperial worlds. Soon the names of these Magisters became a dark whisper upon the lips of the faithful: Shebol Red-Handed, Heritor Asphodel, Sholen Skara, Khul Kolesh, Enok Innokenti, Rusheck Vakkim, Anakwanar Sek, Qux the Eyeless, Sharenidy and Nokad the Blighted.

Besieged and abandoned the last valiant loyalist worlds could do nothing but look to the stars and pray for deliverance. For decades they held out, fervently believing that the Emperor would not forget them. Their faith was to be rewarded, for on the 266th day of 755.M41 the war-fleets of War-Master Slaydo translated back into real-space.

The Crusade to retake the Sabbat Worlds had begun!

_+++War-Master Slaydo+++_

_Slaydo was a noted and experienced commander with scores of victories to his name. However it was his great triumph at Khulan (754.M41) that would earn him his greatest desire: command of a Crusade to liberate the Sabbat worlds. Slaydo immediately used both his vast political connections and the full authority of his office to secure a force of almost a billion Guardsmen as well as forming co-operative pacts with the Adeptus Mechanicus and no less than six Astartes Chapters! _

_However Slaydo was more than a military leader, he was a deeply devout and spiritual man who prized the Gospel of Saint Sabbat as one of the greatest works of Imperial literature. To him the descent of Sabbat's worlds into Chaos was more than a military defeat; it was an affront to the righteousness of man._

_Any envy felt by Slaydo's peers was tempered by the nature of the task that had been set for him. Many believed that it would doom his career, but Slaydo' fundamental passion for the cause of the Saint would brook no naysayers. Slaydo was a brilliant commander and a highly charismatic individual, however he had one fear: that he would not live to see the completion of his great work. To ensure his legacy Slaydo gathered all his closest aids and commanders and told them of his hopes and fears, together they swore that the legacy of Saint Sabbat would be restored no matter what odds they faced, or how many of them fell. _

**Operation Redrake**

War-Master Slaydo opened his crusade with a bold multi-point offensive across the Newfound Trailing sub-sector. Four fleets hit the systems Formal Prime, Onscard, Long Halent, and Indrid with a combined might of almost a billion Guardsmen, six Astartes Chapters and two full Titan Legions.

Striking without warning the Chaos garrisons were swiftly scattered with General Dravere claiming victory at Long Halent and Lord Militant Hummel conquering Onscard within days. Indrid was more stubborn challenge but Lord Militant Cybon responded with skill and cunning and soon proved the superiority of Imperial strategy and martial power.

The real stumbling block of 755 was Formal Prime where the warren like tunnels of the Hive cities cost the advancing Guardsmen dear. Slaydo himself assumed command but his reputation for brilliance was soon threatened as casualty rates continued to soar. It was only later that tacticians would learn that the fierce resistance was being led Magister Shebol the Red Handed and his fierce warrior zealots. Bitter fighting raged in the dank tunnels and Imperial tacticians estimated that they were losing two hundred guardsmen for every metre taken.

Slaydo had not expected his advance to be threatened so early in the campaign and he railed at his senior staff _"Show me men who know how to fight!"_ Famously a young and then unknown commander called Macaroth replied, _"Follow me to the morgue sir and I'll show you plenty!" _Desperate, War-Master Slaydo called upon the aid of the White Scars Chapter, whose courageous battle brothers spearheaded the lightning assaults upon the enemy's fortifications and led the Imperial forces of the Crusade to victory. It is believed that Shebol the Red Handed survived the destruction of his zealot army and escaped, however his movements afterwards are hard to trace and his presence was not officially recognised in any actions for many years.

By 756.M41 the Imperial Crusade was ready to push forwards once more, however the forces of Chaos were now aware of the threat and were amassing to repel the invaders.

_+++Fornax Aleph+++_

_Following the success of Operation Redrake War-Master Slaydo began establishing staging points for the next stage of his Crusade. It was during this time that one of the most inexplicable events of the entire Crusade occurred: at Fornax Aleph. A major bastion of the enemy, Slaydo tasked the taking of this hive world to General Elbeth, who commanded nine regiments of Guardsmen, a full armoured column along with a taskforce from the Dark Angels Chapter. Whilst on route sporadic Warp-Storm activity disrupted the fleet and scattered the vessels, with only the Dark Angels arriving on schedule, but bizarrely adopting immediate comms silence. It was only three weeks later that General Elbeth's regrouped fleet translated back into real space. He reported that his advance was completely unchallenged and indeed that the Tech-Priests could not confirm that orbital defences of Fornax Aleph were even manned._

_As he approached closer he reported that the planet was emitting no signals and that the ship's surveyors could detect no signs of electromagnetic activity from any of the massive Hive Cities. His last message stated that he had commenced mass-landings around the primary Hive, before a surge of Warp-Storm activity cut off all communications._

_Eighty days later an Imperial scout ship translated back into real space on the edge of the system. An extensive survey of the entire system was conducted, yet only served to provide more questions than answers. Of the Imperial forces there was no sign whatsoever, except for the disturbed ground around the Primary Hive where the tracks of Imperial landing shuttles were clearly marked. Even more perplexingly there was no sign of the planet's population, loyalist or traitor, and yet no buildings or systems were damaged in any way. Seventeen billion humans were simply absent, without leaving any sign of resistance, struggle or even a single corpse._

_The regiments involved were listed as missing in action and the entire Dark Angels Chapter withdrew from the Crusade, refusing to provide a definite answer as to the fate of their lost Company. To this day there are no plausible explanations or theories as to what transpired on Fornax Aleph. _

**Operation Newfound**

War-Master Slaydo wasted no time consolidating his victories, instead he launch an immediate thrust into the Newfound Trailing sub and deeper on into the Sabbat Worlds. Slaydo believed that a bold decisive strike would scatter enemy resistance and allow him to position his forces to assault Balhaut, a mighty Hive World and lynchpin of the entire western Sabbat Worlds. Slaydo believed that if he could reach Balhaut quickly enough the Crusade would over within the decade.

He was to be bitterly disappointed.

The first blow fell against the towering Hive cities of Ashek II, and the orbital drop was bitterly contested. Under heavy fire the infantry deployed from their landing positions but could not achieve a breakout from the killing zone. Crusade High Command was astounded by the fierce and dedicated resistance of the foe, and the bizarre mechanical constructs thrown against their lines. It fell to the warriors of the White Scars Chapter to silence the enemy artillery and allow the Guardsmen to form effective battle lines. Still the enemy fell back in good order and lured the Crusade armies into a gruelling war of attrition.

By 757 not a single Hive city on Ashek II had fallen and C.H.C. had determined that the forces arrayed against them were being led by a Magister known as 'Heritor Asphodel'. The tactical genius of the foe was matched only by his ability for designing grotesque mechanical horrors known as 'Woe Machines' that shattered Crusade lines and drained the courage from every man who saw them. Lord Militant Blackwood described them as, "_The mechanisms of an insane torturer made real and magnified to giant proportions. The Imperial Guard is many things but in the end it is only flesh and blood and these abominations are fashioned simply to strip and rend and break those mortal substances utterly."_

War-Master Slaydo was aghast at the ruination of his attack plans; this was but the first move in a long, complex strategy and already it seemed the Crusade had stumbled, but after long deliberation he struck upon a brilliant solution. The War-Master sent detailed reports of Heritor Asphodel's 'Woe Machines' to the Adeptus Mechanicus, along with speculation that the designs were perversions of S.T.C technologies. The Tech-Priests had so far proved reluctant to commit their precious resources to battle but the heresy of Heritor Asphodel incensed them to deploy an entire Titan Legion to Ashek II. Led by the monumental Emperor class, '_Imperious Corporalis_' the Titans engaged the forces of Chaos in a series of running engagements that saw more Guardsmen committed to psychiatric care than were actually wounded as the metallic behemoths clashed. General Mazzen's report stated, "_Everywhere we looked, giant metal gods duelled with giant metal daemons. The very ground gasped at the weight of them, the very sky shook. We were like insects under their feet, of no more consequence than ants._" After three more months of brutal combat the Titans shattered the back of the enemy army and the Hive cities began to fall one by one to the advancing Crusaders. Following the fall of the last Hive City Heritor Asphodel fled the planet and escaped into deep space.

Pushing forwards once more, the Crusade was expecting to find that the backbone of the enemy resistance had been finally broken, but they were in for a cruel surprise. Throughout 758.M41 a disastrous series of assaults against enemy worlds were easily repulsed. The sheer stubbornness of the foe and their unbreakable discipline was totally unlike any Chaos force ever encountered, (not including the Traitor legions).

War-Master Slaydo was forced to abandon his strategy of a powerful single thrust into the enemy's bowels, instead he completely revised Imperial tactics by attacking across a dozen systems at once. Lightning campaigns raged across planets with whole armies moving at breakneck speed. The War-Master's new strategy depended on keeping the enemy off balance through feint and mis-information, indeed veritable armies of clerks spent years processing mis-information intended to be intercepted by the Chaos forces. As a result whole enemy fleets were sent chasing ghosts, while the Crusade pushed forwards at last. Desperately regrouping the enemy launched a series of counter attacks that Slaydo met with sweeping redeployments of his armies. This was a war unlike any other, grand strategy carried out across dozens of light years and a single mistake in the general's strategy could cost the lives of millions of soldiers.

This period saw some of the bitterest fighting of the Crusade to date, many worlds changed hands more than once but others held out against all counter attacks. Had the status quo remained as it was it is probable that the Crusade would had been broken through sheer attrition, but they had an unexpected ally. Countless worlds long since thought lost harboured die hard loyalist agitators who had spent generations praying for deliverance. As news of the Crusade to retake the Sabbat worlds finally filtered through enemy security they rose up and openly rebelled. Most of these insurrections were mercilessly put down, but they did succeed in tying up crucial enemy forces. Meanwhile any world liberated dedicated thousands of its sons to war, swelling the Crusade with regiments comprised of fanatics seeking vengeance for generations of oppression. By 762.M41 the Crusade had liberated dozens of worlds including the planets Sverrin, Rammery and Neffr, which were critical to the security of strategic supply lines to the front.

But then in late 762.M41 a massive Chaos counter attack fell upon Sverrin and launched a blitzkrieg against the entrenched Crusaders. Led by Magister Sholen Skara and Archon Nadzybar himself it was the largest single concentration of hostile forces yet encountered in the Crusade. If Sverrin fell the enemy could cut off the advancing front waves from their support and effectively bisect the Crusade in two. The most senior Imperial commanders present were all killed in the first strike and command fell to a General Bulledin, an experienced leader who had already fought to liberate Sverrin two years previously. Had General Bulledin fully appreciated the scale of the enemy force deployed to the planet he may well have lost the war by mid 762. But mistakenly believing the enemy to be approximately equal in size to his own army, General Bulledin sallied forth against the enemy's flanks with a brilliantly executed armoured assault that caught them totally off balance. Confident that the Crusaders would dig in and prepare for protracted resistance against such an overwhelming force, Archon Nadzybar was completely unprepared to meet an enemy counter offensive and his troops took heavy casualties. The Chaos army was slow to respond and by the time counter attacks were ready Bulledin had finally grasped the scale of the threat and conducted a fighting withdrawal.

The war was to last two more years, but the first victory of General Bulledin had shattered enemy morale and crucially Archon Nadzybar never again had the confidence to move as decisively as he should with his forces suffering as a result. By 764 Imperial reinforcements rushing back from the front had ousted Nadzybar and sent him in full retreat back through the Newfound Trailing sub to Balhaut itself.

To this day Imperial Scholars speculate how the Crusade would had fared if Imperial intelligence had been performing properly.

_+++Civitas Imperialis+++_

_An oft-misused term assumed to mean, simply the rule of Imperial law. Its actual meaning is more specific and as scholars have learned from his diaries of particular importance to War-Master Slaydo himself. During the Great Crusade the Civitas Imperialis was laid down to 'guarantee the safety and assurance of any citizen of the Imperium of Mankind wherever he sets foot within the length and breadth of the Imperium'._

_The Civitas was therefore meant to be the hallmark of refined human civilisation, the ultimate goal of all its power, and it was this that War-Master Slaydo dreamt of restoring. _

**Assault on Balhaut**

. With Archon Nadzybar rallying his forces at Balhaut the Crusade at last had the opportunity to advance unopposed and close on the foe. Finally after ten long years of bloody struggle the Crusade stood ready to meet the bulk of the enemy army in a single decisive battle.

Revealing himself to be a master of subterfuge War-Master Slaydo distributed scout forces along the rimward edge of the Newfound Trailing group, so as to suggest a move to bypass Balhaut and strike deeper into the Sabbat Worlds. Furthermore knowing that Chaos spies existed within the Crusade Slaydo began a campaign of misinformation. Extensive policy documents and fake orders were continually moved between the offices of the Generals and the Admiralty, which concerned fictitious deployments of troops. Slaydo also suddenly voiced support for Lord Militant Cybon's 'rimward alternative' strategy, suggesting that the mining world Fabia would be an excellent staging point for further strikes. Cybon did not take this well, writing in his journals, "_How galling it is to see my sound and honest plan torn up, discarded and then re-used as a sop to tempt the animal foe-into the snare._" In a brilliant move Slaydo also allowed a fully functional Imperial decryption logic-engine to be captured by the enemy in a failed raid, whilst simultaneously transferring all real messages to a completely new encoding system. Unaware of how masterfully he was being manipulated Archon Nadzybar summoned every single one of his Magisters to Balhaut and began preparing to meet an assault in the neighbouring Fabia system. But even as the troops were embarking to their ships in orbit they were catastrophically surprised by the full might of the Crusade war-fleet.

The assault of Balhaut was orchestrated with Slaydo's typical cunning, with the Crusade fleet translating back to real-space one by one on the edge of the system. Following a low power burn the fleet advanced slowly in four squadrons, appearing to be nothing more than a drifting meteor storm. So convinced was the enemy that the Crusade was approaching Fabia that the Imperials achieved high orbit completely undetected and took the foe unawares. Attacking from four directions the Crusaders caused sheer panic among the enemy and in the first hour the great orbital docks, '_Hallidin Threshold'_ and '_Balhaut Highstation'_ were destroyed. Repeating his mistake at Sverrin Archon Nadzybar singularly failed to respond in any decisive manner and fought a defensive battle that saw 52% of his fleet annihilated before they broke and ran for the nearest Warp translation point. The orbital defence platforms were a different matter altogether, commanded by Magister Anakwanar Sek they reaped a bloody tally in defeat and Crusade losses were 12% including the mighty battleship '_Myrmidon'. _By hour twenty-one orbital supremacy had been achieved and planetary bombardment was begun, a furious barrage of laser fire and nuclear warheads so fierce that eyewitness reported that the entire equator was on fire. By hour thirty three, with the orbital bombardment still fierce in places, the planetary drop began in earnest, Slaydo's fateful order was transmitted as simply "_Commence Planetary Assault: in the Emperor's name… Make them weep_!"

The assault on Balhaut was a truly global undertaking with Crusade shuttles falling upon every major and minor landmass like a blizzard of metal. First in were the Space Marines of the White Scars, Iron Snakes, Silver Guard, Doom Eagles and Patriarchs of Ulixis Chapters. Their objective was to silence the planetary defence lasers and missile silos so as to create safe corridors through the crossfire for the lumbering Imperial landers that followed hot on their heels. The Adeptus Astartes completed their missions with exemplary skill and precision but so dense was the defence that the Crusaders still took 32% casualties before achieving planetfall.

Several key regions were considered to be priority targets and they were all assaulted simultaneously by the Crusaders. The most important target was the industrial zone codified 'Oligarchy' and War-Master Slaydo personally commanded the operation, to counter him Archon Nadzybar himself mustered his personal army, accompanied by Magister Khul Kolesh and Magister Heritor Asphodel. This warzone was soon covered in thick clouds of toxic gas that forced the men to fight in rebreathers. Once more facing the insane creations of Heritor Asphodel Slaydo summoned a massive armoured column along with the Silver Guard and White Scars Space Marines. For seven days none stop fighting raged through the factories and depots, seven days that saw Khul Kolesh dead and the Chaos forces falling back to their last bastion, the infamous 'High Palace of the Archon'. For two days the enemy held the outer walls against the superior Crusader armies but on the ninth day the courageous men of the Hyrkan 8th took the gateway. This allowed the Silver Guard Astartes to establish a beachhead inside the enemy's fortification, through which the rest of Slaydo's army poured. By day ten the High Palace itself was under siege.

Across Balhaut fierce fighting raged, the sky was filled with duelling fighters, vast columns of armoured vehicles raced across the plains, massive Titans blasted warped behemoths to slag. Every house was a pill box, every metre taken a victory. Some places like Ascension valley, the Western Plains or Boros Hive were swiftly conquered by the Crusaders and their Titans, whereas the Tark Islands and Zaebes city proved to be cunning traps, with every inch paid for in blood. However none of them compared to the bloodbath that was Balopolis,

Here General Currell faced off against the kith of Sholen Skara, and received terrible blows even as he landed. The Crusaders were under relentless fire from the second they landed and casualty rates soared every minute. General Curell wrote, "_I have never seen such fury, nor such devastation. Every street corner is a last stand, every hab stack an apocalypse. I have seen epic battles in the streets, fighting as desperate and violent as any combat undertaken by men and yet each one is quickly eclipsed and forgotten by the next_". General Curell was severely wounded in day two and within two more days almost his entire high command was obliterated, command of the Balopolis theatre now fell to young commander, named Macaroth.

It was later revealed that Slaydo had written off Balopolis as a lost cause, his only response to second the Patriarchs of Ulixis to relieve Macaroth's armies once they had finished conquering Barresh Hive, a no doubt slow and laborious task in itself. However commander Macaroth was no ordinary man, faced with crushing defeat and humiliation he chose to stake everything he had left on one last charge, to death or glory. Ignoring tactical reports and the advise of his aid de camps he launched a chemical gas attack upon the enemy's positions, knowing that they would respond in kind. As soon as the shells started landing he launched an audacious armoured thrust through the heart of the city. We can not imagine what his men thought as they rode in hot sweaty boxes towards the enemy, with rubble crunching underfoot and shells screaming overhead. Knowing that if their filters failed they would die painful choking deaths, or worse if the thick clouds dispersed too quickly enemy gunners would realise their presence and obliterate them. The risks were great but Macaroth's instincts had paid off, for the transports and tanks of the Crusaders burst out of the thick toxic clouds mere metres from the enemy front and shattered through them with almost no resistance. Driving onwards Macaroth tore deep into the foes's vitals, he was outnumbered a hundred to one but the audacious commander led his men from the front and for nineteen hours he personally held the line. His personal bravery and charisma stirred the hearts of every man and they fought with the desperate courage of hopeless men. When the Patriarchs of Ulixis arrived nineteen days later they found the city reduced to rubble but still Macaroth's banner still flew high of the piled corpses of the enemy.

Macaroth's tale soon spread to every corner of the planet and he was immediately elevated to the rank of 'Marshal' and lauded as the hero of Balhaut. But his return to the lines was eclipsed by the news that the High Palace had fallen and Archon Nadzybar was dead: Balhaut, the greatest bastion of Chaos in the Western Sabbat Worlds had fallen in less than a month.

However the price was to prove itself high: too high. War-Master Slaydo had taken grievous wounds in the final assault and now lay at death's door.

Every high commander on Balhaut was summoned to his side and reported unto him a litany of victory that would ensure his place beside the Golden Throne forevermore.

Then in a deathly whisper Slaydo named his successor, and breathed no more.

The gathered Generals, Admirals, Princeps, Chapter Masters and Lord Militants, knelt and swore fealty to their new commander and proxy of the Golden Throne of Terra.

War-Master Macaroth.

+++_Legacy of the Magisters_+++

_Most of the Archon's brutal followers perished during the war on Balhaut, with lamentable exceptions. Magister Allikarn managed to flee the planet, only to be tracked down and destroyed during a fleet action nine days later. During the confusion at Balopolis Sholen Skara succeeded in escaping the fires of Balhaut. Heritor Asphodel, realising the untenable position of the Archon's strengths, also quit the planet (possibly as early as the fifth day of the assault) and left Nadzybar to face the Crusade forces alone. Both Skara and the Heritor would prove future threats to the Crusade armies._

_In the aftermath of the fighting as the Imperial forces secured their occupation, the legacy of these monsters was revealed. Sholen Skara's murder camps in Balopolis contained hideous evidence of the genocide the Magister had wrought on the population in the name of his obsessive worship of death. In the compounds around the Oligarchy, proof was found of the medical experimentation Heritor Asphodel had had performed on thousands of live subjects. Terrible mental distress and even insanity plagued many of the Imperial personnel who witnessed these discoveries, and drove others on in relentless obsession to destroy the perpetrators forever. _

**The Gamble**

War-Master Macaroth faced a difficult situation, his promotion was universally criticised and most of the senior commanders thought him too young and junior for such a role. Many including Lord Militant Cybon, General Kelso and Admiral Kristor

felt that they should have been awarded the rank and pushed for Macaroth's demotion. To add injury to insult, many Chaos battle groups scattered from Balhaut slipped through Imperial picket lines and launched hit and run raids against targets thought safely distant from the front. A dozen transports and the worlds Obleth, Ranchez and Tanith were obliterated by the reavers. The War-Master's new position looked precarious indeed.

However Macaroth would never fight defensively, even in politics, so he determined to go on the offensive by launching a push towards the 'Cabal' sub-sector. Macaroth's stated intent horrified his commanders; the Cabal group lay far to the galactic east, and was home to the infamous 'Fortress worlds'. To reach Cabal Macaroth would have to drive across the entire Khan group and fight through every army between Balhaut and Cabal. The scale of his ambition was regarded as nothing short of laughable, as it made even Slaydo's bold thrust for Balhaut seem modest and timid. Lord Militant Cybon wrote, "_The arrogance of the man is matched only by his incompetence_". While Chapter Master Veegum called it "_The Rebus gambit_" making reference to a planet that lay east of the Sabbat worlds, implying that Macaroth might as well have demanded they take the rest of the territory in one go.

However what no one other than Macaroth appreciated was that the enemy had lost their Archon and unlike the Imperials had no clear successor. With lightning speed the Crusade pushed forwards from Balhaut, following Slaydo's example Macaroth did not fight from a spearhead advance but instead favoured a multi point attack. Mobility was the watchword of the Crusade and the lines of battle flowed and surged as worlds fell or repulsed attacks. Great victories were won at Fortis Binary, Monthax, Nyzon II, Vergahst and Hagia. But terrible defeats were suffered at Parthenope, Krillian and Urdesh: a key loyalist forge world that would now supply the traitors with endless lines of munitions and armour.

During this period there were countless minor and major battles, many were tactically significant but two battles were of major moral but little tactical value. The first was the assault on Sapiencia that at last saw the death worshipping Magister, Sholen Skara and his army of 'Kith' brought to heel. Stealthy infiltration by the Crusade armies saw the genocidal Magister captured and his entire death cult army immediately committed ritual suicide. Sholen Skara craved death himself, and many who had observed the concentration camps he built on Balhaut yearned to give it to him, but crueller heads prevailed and the Inquisition ordered that Skara would live for a long, long time.

In 769.M41 the hive world Verghast saw a massive Chaos uprising led by non other than the notorious Heritor Asphodel. Terrible inter-hive war erupted, with the fiercest fighting concentrated around Vervunhive, and once more the Heritor's 'Woe-machines' carried all before them. Bitter resistance held off the Chaos horde for fifty days but the Heritor eventually broke through the walls and attacked directly. It was only a desperate stealth infiltration by the famous Tanith, 1st and only, that saw the Heritor dead, but with grievous losses for the loyalists.

Finally after five years relentless lightning conquest the Crusade had broken through the Kahn Group and stood ready to assault the critical Cabal group, and their infamous 'Fortress worlds'. Many called for proper consolidation of the Khan Group, predicting that to press on would leave the Crusade dangerously exposed to flank attacks, but Macaroth would hear none of it and ordered the assault to begin immediately.

_+++The New Archon+++_

_Following Balhaut the biggest impediment to the forces of Chaos was the lack of a clear chain of succession. The fractured armies fought each other as much as they fought the Crusaders and more than one world was discovered with all military forces already obliterated. Later analysis revealed that there were three contenders for the position of Archon: the demonically gifted Magister Innokenti, the tactical genius Anakwanar Sek, and Urlock Gaur, lord of the Blood Pact._

_By 770.M41 it became clear to the Crusaders that a new Archon had been 'elected', Urlock Guar now commanded all the forces of Chaos in the Sabbat Worlds. He was to prove a brutal, savage commander who lacked imagination or morals, but his martial might was without peer. To the surprise of many the Blood Pact was to prove a superb military machine with discipline and innovation merged together to create a ruthless war machine. It soon became commonplace for the Blood Pact to be posted to the most vicious war zones and they were regarded by both sides as the elite of the Chaos forces. _

_A noted perversion of the Blood Pact was their willingness to cooperate with Xeno breeds, in particular the alien Loxatol. A cunning reptilian predator they complemented the Blood Pact superbly and together they became a force to be feared by all. _

**Assault on the Cabal Systems**

The assault on the Cabal Systems itself began in 770.M41, a trying proposition for the badly over-stretched Crusade. Macaroth made no secret for his admiration for Slaydo's Operation Redrake, however as with everything Slaydo had done Macaroth intended to do it bigger and more ambitiously. Described as 'a bravura, multi-point invasion' Macaroth's attack plan called for a simultaneous assault of nineteen key planets in the Cabal Systems, including three of the notorious 'Fortress worlds'. It was hoped that this audacious thrust would shake the resolve of the numerically superior but still less co-ordinated foe.

Transcripts of his commands and meetings show that Macaroth fully appreciated the scale of his gamble. If successful this phase of the assault would virtually guarantee Imperial victory. If it failed his whole crusade force might well be overrun and driven out of the Sabbat worlds entirely. The initial assaults threw the enemy into disarray and several key worlds fell within months to the Crusaders, however the vital 'Fortress worlds' held out, especially the critical target: Morlond. While each and every assault was tactically important the frontline battles were less strategically important than the swirling combats raging behind the lines in the Khan Group.

Archon Gaur drove an infernal counter-offensive along the Crusade's corewards flanks, taking in quick succession Enothis, Khan V, Caius Innate and Belshiir Binary. Vital supply lines to the push in the Cabal Systems were severed and Macaroth's gamble now seemed foolhardy. Unless fresh supply lines could be forged the critical battles in the Cabal Systems would falter and the entire Crusade could very well be pushed back to Balhaut or beyond. In desperation the few remaining uncommitted regiments, (which still outnumbered most Imperial Guard armies), were rushed to key worlds and ordered to secure their production facilities. The targets were Gigar, Aondrift Nova, Anaximandar, Mirridon, Tanzia IV, Rydol and Phantine. Ferocious battles raged and many noble victories were hard-won, in particular the historians celebrate the actions of the Iron Snakes Chapter at Ambold XI where their timely intervention saved an entire Crusade army from certain defeat. Also of worthy recognition is the actions of the Tanith 1st and only on the holy shrine world of Hagia.

With his 'victory veins' secured War-Master Macaroth redoubled his attack on the Cabal Systems and soon only the fortress world Morlond, held out against his advance. Crusade intelligence believed that Archon Gaur had now retreated beyond the Cabal Systems to the Carcaradon Cluster, Easternmost region of the Sabbat Worlds and the last stronghold of Chaos. With typical instinctive flair and against all advice from his staff chiefs, Macaroth divided his command between his Generals and tasked them each with taking vital worlds along the flanks of the Crusade to secure against possible counter-attacks. Meanwhile he was personally fixated upon breaking Morlond, he was determined to break through the Cabal Systems and engage Archon Gaur in the Carcaradon Cluster. Macaroth described this as '_grappling with Gaur in his own backyard'_. Many voices were raised in objection, Naval Admirals in particular believed that Macaroth had only survived his gamble in the Cabal Systems by the thinnest of luck and now saw him repeating the risk on a far greater scale.

However War-Master Macaroth would hear none of it; intelligence assured him that command of the last remnants of the enemy in the Khan Group had devolved to Magisters Shebol Red-Handed, Anakwanar Sek and Enok Innokenti. It was thought that these had few forces and could only mount minor threats to the Crusade's flanks. Macaroth was certain his flanks were secure and he could push forward and break Morlond.

They would be proven gravely in error, all too soon.

**Counter attack in the Khan Group**

In 773.M41 Magisters Enok Innokenti and Anakwanar Sek launched a murderous counter attack into the Khan Group from both Corewards and Rimwards. Made up of hosts of warriors, cultists, war machines, air power and worst of all the notorious Blood Pact, the counter attack was designed for one sole purpose: to bisect the Crusade and decapitate it.

This was exactly what Macaroth's advisors had long feared, the Crusade was badly over extended and dangerously exposed. It seemed the War-Master's gamble had failed and annihilation loomed. Macaroth was all too aware of the danger and the imponderable nature of the problem. He could not remain overstretched or the Khan Group would fall, but neither could he spare any resources from the frontline as that would condemned his vanguard to the mercy of the Archon. Either option seemed cursed with failure, Macaroth simply had to choose which to risk. Famously he showed Cybon two identical cups of wine and asked the Lord Militant to pick one saying, "_One is elixir, one poison_". Cybon asked, "_How can I tell them apart?"_ Macaroth simply replied "_By taking one up and tasting it_". With those words the War-Master committed his entire vanguard to the taking of Morlond and left his flanks to the fickle whim of fate.

The war in the Khan Group was as fierce and brutal as the assault on Balhaut itself, and the enemy swiftly cut through the Imperial lines in a most extraordinary display of considered and well-judged leadership. As the wave of attacks swept through the Khan Group panic spread from world to world like a plague, as fearful populations dreaded the return of their enslavers. Universal rioting crippled three worlds and a dozen more were only kept in order by the most brutal of reprisals against looters and anarchists. Imperial losses mounted daily and it is impossible to calculate the number of civilian dead. It is also impossible to chart the number of death camps and industrial murder centres the foe established as they advanced, let alone the number of people those abominable places consumed.

Word of these hideous atrocities was regularly boasted about in enemy transmission as was taped records of the last desperate pleas for aid by overwhelmed Imperial garrisons. Incidents of desertion and cowardice soared among Planetary Defence Forces throughout the Khan Group and some worlds lost up to 20% of their military long before the enemy even approached them. Tacticians agree that Anakwanar Sek was the conductor of this abominable propaganda; Sek was the most brilliant of enemy warlords and specialised in psychological warfare. Sek wanted the Imperial worlds to know that devastation was approaching. He wanted to lock his targets in fear and terror making them ripe for invasion.

More than anything else he wanted them to know: the Blood Pact was coming.

To the Rim Anakwanar Sek drove through all resistance, world after world fell before him and disaster seemed inevitable. But then the enemy finally made a critical mistake, when he attacked the war-torn world of Enothis. Quickly reasserting Chaos domination over the southern 'Trinity Hives', Sek scattered the besieging Crusade force of Lord Militant Humel and drove them racing back to the Northern Hives of the Commonwealth. Humel's only hope was the narrow straits of the Zophonian Sea, which lay between the two continents. If his army could reach the straits they could be evacuated to the north to regroup, while the enemy would be left standing on the beaches without aquatic transports. Taking advice from Admiral Ornoff, Humel redirected all his efforts to the one remaining advantage the Imperial had left: air power. Drawing in every possible flier and pilot he had, Admiral Ornoff committed his squadrons to protect and resupply the toiling land forces fleeing northwards. Imperial Thunderbolt and Lightning fighters duelled endlessly with the Chaos Hell-Razors and Hell-Talons, flying back to back missions to deny enemy bombers, protect fuel carriers, and escort the barges on the open sea. They were joined in this noble effort by the local P.D.F. pilots: flying in vastly inferior Commonwealth machines they were out flown and out fought in every single engagement but through countless acts of forlorn heroism, these courageous men bought precious time for their brothers, their families and their world. By the 270th day of 773 the southern coast was entirely abandoned but Anakwanar Sek controlled enough of the airfields on the coast to dominate the skies anyway.

In three massive waves Anakwanar Sek launched his squadrons to '_find blood in the air'_, so many Chaos planes launched at once that the increase in thermal emissions was detectable from orbit. From scattered islands in the Zophonian Sea rose the few remaining squadrons of the Imperial Navy and the Commonwealth, outnumbered four to one but determined to deny the enemy at all costs. Admiral Ornoff immortalised the spirit of those noble fliers when he was told of the odds and replied, "_That will just make it four times as hard for our boys to miss!"_

The battle of the Zophonian Sea, as it came to be called, was the single greatest aerial conflict of the entire Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Every single pilot flew back-to-back sorties and most came back with their ammunition totally expended and their las-cannons fused from continuous firing. It would be impossible to describe the swirling combat that raged over the Zophonian Sea, every inch of sky was filled with dogfights and acts of desperate heroism. The few enemy bombers that succeeded in breaking past the Imperials were swiftly hunted down by Commonwealth pilots, who found their inferior machines more than a match for lumbering bombers. On that one-day Imperial losses were nine hundred and forty-eight planes against seven thousand eight hundred and forty confirmed kills. Vicious vat-born hypno-trained pilots proved to be no match for the hardened veterans of the Imperium, and they were decimated by the superior expertise of the Crusaders. Of the Imperial wings involved the highest kill tally per pilot of any squadron was the 101st 'Apostles, but three other wings, including the Phantine XX exceeded the Apostles' combined score.

That single day broke the back of Anakwanar Sek's ambition, the Imperial force soon regrouped in the North and successfully counter attacked. By that same time next year the Imperial armies had swept the Chaos hordes aside, conquered the Trinity Hives and driven Sek out of the Khan Group completely.

However this was a small victory, as on the other side of the Khan Group Enok Innokenti stood poised to break through Imperial lines and kill the entire Crusade in one blow. It was an hour of disaster, tragedy, looming failure…

And of miracles

**The Miracle**

In 773 the forces of Enok Innokenti had almost broken through the Khan Group completely, Imperial resistance had been fierce but futile. In one last desperate attempt to save the Crusade Macaroth appointed a new commander to oppose Innokenti: Lord General Bulledin, the Hero of Sverrin. Bulledin saw that Imperial resistance was too widespread to effectively counter the Magister's advance and so, like the War-Master himself, he gambled everything on one last throw of the dice. Calling together his entire military might to Khan III, Bulledin gambled that the enemy would not be able to give up the glory such a battle would bring and he ensured his place in the history books when he declared, "_There will be no more running!_"

For two weeks the Crusaders sweated, fearful that Innokenti would not fall for Bulledin's lure but then Naval vessels reported a massive fleet of Chaos ships moving in system. Initial landings were fiercely contested, but the enemy succeeded in establishing a beachhead. To everyone's surprise the enemy did not bear the symbols of Enok Innokenti, but rather flew the flags of Shebol Red-Handed, a brutal but unimaginative commander.

The Magister foolishly deployed his forces across the Tontine Valley basin and the Ashore Uplands in an attempt to break the heart of the Imperial lines. Supported by Pardus and Narmenian armour brigades, Bulledin swiftly forced an opening along a fenland known as Bale's field. Infantry took full advantage of this and the fenland soon became a killing ground where the enemy lost five troopers for every Guardsman killed. Shebol then panicked and drew in his forces around the town of Forness, a heavy tank battle ensued but Bulledin pressed in with surgical efficiency and pushed three battalions of mechanised infantry in country with Titan support. Forness burned and Shebol showed his true colours when he tried to flee, but he was cut off by armour commanded by Bulledin himself. Popular history has it that Lord General Bulledin slew Magister Shebol in single combat, but sadly there is no evidence to support this admittedly enticing account. Fighting would continue on Khan III for another twenty-two months, but the outcome was never in doubt. However there was still one question burning on every officer's mind: where was Enok Innokenti?

On the tiny and insignificant world of Herodor the full force of the Magister's rage had been vented. Thousands of Blood Pact troopers and scores of armour units poured across the planet and laid siege to the only major Hive city, the Civitas Beati. Imperial tacticians desperately tried to explain this bizarre action only to have the answer handed to them. Ten Cardinals of the Ecclessiarchy, with the full support of the Inquisition and the Astropaths came before the War-Master and announced the impossible had happened. The long sought miracle had occurred

Saint Sabbat had been reincarnated!

Chaos could not allow such a potent and pure force to roam free in the universe once more, Innokenti had to kill her before she could join the Crusade that bore her name. All that stood before him was the local P.D.F. and one Guard regiment, the Tanith 1st and only. The fight was bitter and gruelling, for two months the overwhelmed Imperials held out against overwhelming odds, before falling back into the Hive spire itself. Defeat now seemed certain, but the Saint was gifted with clarity of vision that others lacked, she recorded a message to the people of the city and broadcast it to everyone who could hear.

The pict message was brief; she had recorded it speaking directly into the camera. Every operational public address screen, comm monitor and view plate in the city broadcast it and the vocal strand boomed out of all the vox horns and speakers still wired in. In a continuous loop the broadcast of the Saint was sent out to every man and woman left in the city. In clear tones Saint Sabbat announced the victory of War-Master Macaroth at Morlond; in a final bloody push he had broken the enemy and sent the Blood Pact fleeing. Even now Imperial forces were rushing back to reinforce the Khan Group: by diverting to Herodor at all Enok Innokenti had handed victory to the Imperium of Man. All the pain and blood shed by the people of Herodor had ensured the eventual defeat of Chaos in the Sabbat Worlds. The final words were as follows, "_All living souls of men still in this city know this, with overwhelming force the monster has crushed us physically but he cannot crush our spirit. Our sacrifice has ensured great victory. Do not die in fear and hiding. Make the price of your lives dear. The Emperor has room for you all in his Imperial army"_

Slowly at first but then in ever-greater numbers the people of the city poured out of their homes and fell upon the invaders. Their saint had called out to them and they responded in the millions. The vicious and savage Blood Pact mowed down countless men and women, but they could not stand against so many: the people had more bodies than they had rounds! Ten of thousands were slaughtered but the invaders were repulsed into the wastes. In a desperate attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his infernal patrons Innokenti stormed the spire, seeking to end the Saint personally. With three brigades of veteran Blood Pact he swept aside all resistance and found the Saint in the grand hall of the Governor. But even his daemonic gifts could not aid him in this battle and the Saint cut him down like a newborn whelp. In one blow Saint Sabbat had broken the Khan Group counter attack and lay to rest any doubts as to the truth of her identity.

_+++Saints+++ _

_Throughout human history there have been individuals gifted with superior vision, grace and power than any of their peers. Athletes of unrivalled skill, who could sway millions with their words and perform feats of valour that inspired generations to come. From Saint Celestine, and Sebastian Thor, to Saint Sabbat and perhaps even the Emperor himself, and even further back into the mists of proto history where ancient myths speak of legendary figures as Ulysses and Hercules, they have always been with us. _

_There are countless theories as to the source of these individual's prowess. The Adeptus Mechanicus refers to evolution and claims that they are the next stage in human development. Whereas the Ecclesiarchy is convinced that they are truly divine, emissaries of the Emperor. The Adeptus Astartes claim that they are evidence of the potential in every man, fully realised whereas the Administratum holds that they must charlatans, propaganda used to inspire the masses, (though they are careful not to say that in the presence of the Inquisition)._

_But there is one theory that may be more controversial than any other, for in the Inquisition itself there are those who believe all Saints to be the work of the Warp. The Thorian faction hold that in nature "for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction", and if it is true in the Real universe so too must it hold in the warp. Therefore if the champions of Chaos can be said to be the manifestation of all that is worst about humanity then the Saints must be the physical avatars of a force that represents the best in humanity. Chaos is formed from the raw essence of lust, rage, despair and avarice; therefore the power of Order must draw strength from love, compassion, hope and purest will. The Thorians claim that the Saints are the physical avatars of this force of Order, sent to lead humanity through the perils of the universe and guide mankind in its eternal war with Chaos. _

_Naturally this is seen as heresy by most and Thorian Inquisitors are forced to work in absolute secrecy to further the cause of Order._

**Closing Years. **

In 775.M41 War-Master Macaroth had finally broken the fortress world Morlond and at last could bring his vanguard to bear against the remnants of the enemy force in the Carcaradon Cluster. Leading his men from the front, as ever, the War-Master was joined in this noble endeavour by Saint Sabbat herself and the litany of her deeds there is so well known that it needs no retelling here.

But as great as the achievements and glories won at the front were, it was still the desperate fighting on the Rimward flanks that would prove to be of greatest strategic significance. Cybon was charged with securing the 'Second Front' as it became known, a task that he felt humiliated by. In a communiqué to the War-Master he wrote, "_Have I not killed enough for you, my bloodthirsty lord? Why do you unman me with this dismal janitorial role? Must I be forced to follow your glory, pace by pace, cleaning up the debris you leave in your wake, while you grant trust in lesser men to pierce the enemy's heart?"_

Macaroth reply was blunt: _"Yes"._

Indeed Cybon was not the only senior commander reassigned to the rear, several other key generals were sent to prosecute the survivors of the flank attack and hunt down Anakwanar Sek. Many felt slighted by this, that the War-Master was making room for fresh blood, but he was soon to be proved right yet again.

In the Rimward edge of the Khan Group, the Magister had dug in and fortified a series of planets. The Crusade Fifth, Eighth and Ninth armies were tasked with ousting him but found the Magister had lost none of his strategic genius. Leading a new military force that rivalled the Blood Pact, the so-called 'Sons of Sek', Anakwanar engaged the Cybon's armies in a bitter war that would last for years to come. It would take all Cybon's skill and experience to break such a foe with his battered and exhausted armies.

One thing was certain though: the War for the Sabbat worlds was far from over…

But that is a story for another day.

_+++Sabbat+++_

_Shells screamed overhead, as a flurry of las shots passed mere inches from Ibram Gaunt's head. He dived into a foxhole mere moments before another barrage of shots slammed into the wall behind him. Colonel-Commissar Gaunt was alone, separated from his command and about to be overrun. Behind him the city lay open and vulnerable, just waiting to be pillaged. Mud sprayed up from another shell and the booming echoes threatened to deafen him as they bounced from wall to wall. Leaping flames and searing lines of tracers burned themselves onto his retinas and the heat scalded his face. Everything was madness; everything was…madness but not the sort that Gaunt was used to._

_He blinked._

_Something odd was happening; every sound was dulled, but everything in sight was growing brighter and brighter. Shards of glass hung suspended in mid air, a las shot burned brightly hanging motionless before him. The grey walls towering around him glowed with heartiness and the burned out wrecks of tanks shone like mother of pearl. For a moment Ibram Gaunt thought he'd been shot. He felt no pain, no impact but he'd heard veterans tell that the world slowed into a wonderland as your failing senses registered the simple profound splendour in everything. There was a light in his eyes, a golden light. A light A.P.C. rolled up with a single figure standing up in its cupola, she was beautiful. _

_She wore a suit of intricately wrought, golden power armour, so fine and form fitting that it had clearly been fashioned for her by master Tech-Priests. Pieces of polished Chelon shell had been set into the bodice and wide pauldrons. Imperial eagles formed contours at the elbows and the poleyns at the knees and the same symbol had been repeated in repeated ribbons down the thighs and vambraces. Her left hand was encased in a giant golden Power fist while in her right she carried a sword of burnished bronze, crackling with the lightning pulses characteristic of a power weapon. Beneath the golden plate, she wore a suit of tightly wound black mail, each link fashioned like an islumbine blossom. A white skirt, long and flowing and fixed with purity seals and prayer streamers, billowed from her waist. The heavy golden gorget rose high to her chin, but her head was uncovered. She'd cut her hair short, sheared it off crudely in fact, so it fell in a glossy black bowl over her head. Her eyes were green as green as pilgrim silk, as green as the rain woods of Hagia. The Saint looked down at Gaunt. A halo of silver light surrounded her; so fierce and bright it made her seem almost translucent._

_She was terrible to behold._

_She smiled._

"_I've been waiting for this, Ibram. Haven't you?" She said in a voice like a crystal wind chime._

_Gaunt had seen war on a hundred worlds, killed more men than he could count but all be could say in a small voice was, "Yes". He realised he was weeping, but didn't care._

_She raised her arms wide; a green cloak of nano-fibres unfurled from her shoulders and became wings. An Imperial Aquilla, ten metres wide made from pure strands of nano-machinery. Gaunt stood up; eyes fixed upon the vision and offered her his sword. Sabbat looked upon the blood and mud caked officer and said, "you'll be needing that Ibram, let us educate the enemy together"._

"_What lesson shall we teach?" he asked,_

"_That the Emperor protects"_

_She raised her sword and pointed it at the enemy positions, and time rushed back like a river. The unseen driver slammed the vehicle forward but she didn't even stir. On either side Imperial warriors surged forwards breaking around Gaunt like water around a rock._

_Cannon boomed, flamers surged, lasguns crackled, enemy died._

_Sword in hand Gaunt ran after her. _


End file.
